Continental Plate | Geology - Encyclopedia Britannica

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Assorted References

• occurrence of regional metamorphism
  • In metamorphic rock: Regional metamorphism

    …of collision between oceanic and continental lithospheric plates such as the circum-Pacific region, the denser oceanic plate is subducted (carried into Earth’s mantle) beneath the more buoyant continental lithosphere (see plate tectonics). Rapid subduction of the cool oceanic lithosphere perturbs the thermal regime in such a way that high pressures…

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significance in

• geochronology
  • In dating: The global tectonic rock cycle

    When continental plates collide, the edge of one plate is thrust onto that of the other. The rocks in the lower slab undergo changes in their mineral content in response to heat and pressure and will probably become exposed at the surface again some time later.…

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• lithosphere
  • In Earth: The outer shell

    A continental plate is exemplified by the North American Plate, which includes North America as well as the oceanic crust between it and a portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The latter is an enormous submarine mountain chain that extends down the axis of the Atlantic basin,…

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• ocean formation
  • In marine ecosystem: Geography, oceanography, and topography

    …two types of plates—oceanic and continental—which float on the surface of the Earth’s mantle, diverging, converging, or sliding against one another. When two plates diverge, magma from the mantle wells up and cools, forming new crust; when convergence occurs, one plate descends—i.e., is subducted—below the other and crust is resorbed…

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